Archives for Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda – TSO

Mazda release and our notes: Mazda Scholarship Drivers Will Race with Cape Motorsports in 2017

Posted by  on Thursday, March 2nd 2017     

Mazda release:

Mazda Scholarship Drivers Will Race with Cape Motorsports in 2017

– Anthony Martin and Oliver Askew Will Both Drive Mazda Soul Red Cars –

IRVINE, Calif. (March 2, 2017) – Anthony Martin and Oliver Askew, two Mazda driver development scholarship winners, will race with Cape Motorsports for the 2017 season in the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. Martin, the 2016 champion in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda series, earned a scholarship to allow him to move up to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires this season. Askew won the $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout late last year, which brings him to the USF2000 series this season with Mazda backing. The season-opening event for the entire Mazda Road to Indy takes place March 10 – 12 at St. Petersburg, Fla..

Cape Motorsports, based in St. Petersburg, Fla., has a sparkling record in the Mazda Road to Indy, including an incredible 10 championships – and six consecutive titles – in the USF2000 series. Owned and operated by brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape, the team has more than two decades of open-wheel racing experience.

Anthony Martin

Anthony Martin, 22, of Kalgoorlie, Australia, will make his Pro Mazda debut this year after a six-win season earned him last year’s USF2000 championship. Martin won the title with Cape, and will stay with the team for the next step of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder.

“Going with Cape Motorsports again was a quite easy decision,” said Martin. “I’m a loyal person and I really do love sticking with the boys. They’re a great team, and everything they have is second to none. I witnessed it all of last year, and I could not leave the team because the way they run the show is impeccable. I’ve never been a part of a team or a family environment like this one.

“Winning the Mazda scholarship meant everything to me,” Martin said, while describing the overwhelming response in his home country. “It was an immense reaction. There was so much hype in Australia about me winning this championship, I had to go back to talk to a lot of the media back home, and see all my friends and family that were really supporting me and backing me. Winning the championship really opened up my eyes to the support I have and how many people were actually watching me and pushing me to do the best I can over here.”

“We’re extremely happy to have Anthony compete on behalf of Cape Motorsports,” said Dominic Cape, team co-owner. “We had a great year with Anthony in 2016 and we saw him grow as a driver into a true champion. We feel confident that he will bring the momentum of his success in the USF2000 series into Pro Mazda. We would also like to thank Mazda for establishing the scholarship programs, along with the series and their partners. We look forward to the start of the 2017 season.”

“Anthony is a perfect example of a driver from across the globe who saw the Mazda Road to Indy as the best opportunity to climb the motorsports ladder,” said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. “Anthony is in a great position to help tell the Mazda story on multiple continents. Our colleagues at Mazda Australia have been able to tell his success story there, where Mazda has had great success in the marketplace. By choosing Cape Motorsports as his home for the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship, Anthony is leveraging his experience with his championship-winning family.  All of us at Mazda wish him the best as he starts the new season with high hopes.”

Anthony Martin will return for his third season of Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire competition, as the reigning USF2000 champion (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

TSO Ladder Notes from Steve:

  • Martin is is the first confirmed Cape Motorsports entry and ninth confirmed full-time Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire driver for the 2017 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, joining Sting Ray Robb (World Speed Motorsports), TJ Fischer (Team Pelfrey), Max Hanratty (Leading Edge Grand Prix), Bobby Eberle (World Speed Motorsports), Charles Finelli (Fat Boy Racing), Brandon Puderbach, (Fat Boy Racing), Carlos Cunha (Team Pelfrey) and Nikita Lastochkin (Team Pelfrey)
  • Martin has a total of 32 Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire starts, with all of them coming in two seasons of USF2000 competition. Over the course of those two seasons the 22-year old Australian collected seven wins, nine poles and 16 podiums. 
  • During the 2016-2017 racing off-season, Martin returned to spend some time working as a mechanic on big drill rigs for Goldfields Compressor Hire, a job that he has had for a number of years. 
  • TSO is hearing that the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire grid is expected to be in double digits (or at least very close) at the first event on the streets of St. Petersburg. 
  • You can follow Cunha on the following social media platforms: Twitter – Instagram – Facebook

Oliver Askew

Oliver Askew, 20, of Jupiter, Fla., began racing karts at age seven and burst upon the open-wheel racing scene last year when he was selected for the Team USA Scholarship, which he utilized to finish second in the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy Grand Finale at Silverstone, England. The Team USA honor also qualified him for the $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, a competition among championship-winning drivers from around the world. Askew won the event, thus earning a Mazda scholarship for his first full season in the USF2000 series.

“The team at Cape Motorsports have helped me a lot with this next step,” said Askew. “I’ve learned so much in the last month of testing with them preparing for this year. It’s a big opportunity for me and I want to maximize that. With Cape Motorsports, everything is possible, as they’re one of the best teams in the paddock and I’m very happy to be with them.”

“As soon as I won the Shootout, I was thinking about the championship and winning races,” said Askew. “This is my opportunity, so I want to make it easier on myself going into next year to win the USF2000 title and earn another season scholarship from Mazda. I’m very fortunate right now to have this opportunity from Mazda.”

Askew was also quick to credit his teammate, Martin.

“[Anthony has been] extremely helpful,” said Askew. “We’re not competing against one another, so it makes it easier for us to compare notes. He’s been through it all in USF2000 with this team, so I can bounce everything off of him. We’re good friends too.”

“We are delighted to have Oliver on our team,” offered Nicholas Cape, co-owner of Cape Motorsports. “He is an exceptional young man and has an extremely bright future ahead of him. He has everything we look for in a driver. It’s been a year in the making getting Oliver in our car and he has impressed us during the initial tests and we’re really looking forward to seeing him race. We are also very proud to be representing the first Mazda Road to Indy Shootout winner, and would like to thank Mazda for all their support. It’s really quite remarkable what they do to support young drivers.”

“The success of the $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Shoot-out was way beyond our expectations,” said Mazda’s Doonan. “We knew we were breaking new ground by bringing drivers from all over the world and that it would be good… but it turned out to be fantastic. Everyone at Mazda was blown away by it, and especially Oliver.

“We’re proud to welcome him to the Mazda family. With the new Tatuus USF-17 chassis debuting, the 2017 season is very much up for grabs, but by choosing to compete with Cape Motorsports, Oliver has put himself in a position for early success. Based on nearly three dozen of the new USF-17 cars being sold, the entire Mazda Road to Indy is in for a real treat in this championship.”

“It is a great honor to have both scholarship drivers compete on behalf of Cape Motorsports,” Dominic Cape said. “The support that Mazda gives young drivers is truly remarkable, and we would like to thank Mazda and John Doonan for establishing the scholarship programs. There is nothing quite like this anywhere in the world. We look forward to debuting both Soul Red cars at our home race in Saint Petersburg next week.”

Oliver Askew, the winner of the MRTI $200K Scholarship Shootout will be contesting the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season in the Soul Red No. 3 from the Cape Motorsports stable. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

TSO Ladder Notes from Steve:

  • Askew is the second Cape Motorsports entry and 16th driver confirmed for the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg, joining: Moises de la Vara (DEForce Racing), Kory Enders (DEForce Racing), Rinus VK (Benik), Devin Wojcik (ArmsUp Motorsports), Chandler Horton (RJB Motorsports), Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey),  Parker Thompson (Exclusive Autosport),  Andre Castro (Newman Sachs Racing), Calvin Ming (Pabst Racing),  Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey), Lucas Kohl (Pabst Racing), Rick Donison (Cape Motorsports),  Luke Gabin (Exclusive Autosport), and Dev Gore (Exclusive Autosport)
  • The 20 year-old Askew does not have a lot of experience in cars, but did have success in the United Kingdom at the Formula Ford Walter Hayes, and Formula Ford Festival. The Team U.S.A. Scholarship representative scored two wins and five podiums in six races across the prestigious end of season events. 
  • You can follow Askew on the following social media platforms: Twitter – Instagram – Facebook
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, USF2000 News/Results
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Recapping the day in Pro Mazda and USF2000 testing with a little flavor for Patrick Stephan

Posted by  on Wednesday, March 1st 2017     

 

Our lede for Wednesday’s MRTI testing recap changed from “Rookie Cape Motorsports pilot leads all six USF2000 test sessions” to, “beat by just ‘that’ much, when MRTI $200K Scholarship Shootout winner Oliver Askew lost the top spot on the timesheet after a lap by Newman Wachs Racing rookie Rinus Van Kalmthout nudged him out by one-tenth of a second.

The 20 year-old Askew still ended up “winning” testing by laying down a quick lap of 1 minute 23.9142 seconds in this morning’s first session. Askew, who was only “testing” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge – expect a release soon) with Cape Motorsports this week, ended up as the only driver with a lap under 1 minute 24 seconds.

Oliver Askew, who was driving for Cape Motorsports topped the timesheet at USF2000 spring training at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

“Going into yesterday, I just wanted to get a feel for the car again,” explained the Jupiter, Florida native.  “I didn’t want to go flat out right away, but we were quick right out of the box. The team is really good at making the right changes for us to learn, which is what we’ve been doing these two days. We haven’t gone out with the same car as the previous session. We picked right up where we left off yesterday and, at the end of the day, we were the only car in the top six that didn’t put new tires on. We’re all getting more knowledgeable about the new car with every change that we make. The Tatuus USF-17 is fantastic. The series has done a great job putting it together and making it user friendly. I didn’t expect the test to go this well so I’m extremely happy and very confident that we’ll be winning races this year.”

The top 10 on the combined timesheet (see below for entire timesheet) were Askew, Kaylen Frederick (Team Pelfrey), Rinus Van Kalmthout (Newman Wachs Racing), Andre Castro (Newman Wachs Racing), Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey), Calvin Ming (Pabst Racing), Parker Thompson (Exclusive Autosport), Kyle Kirkwood (Benik), Dakota Dickerson (Newman Wachs Racing), and Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey).

A trio of brand new USF-17 cars brake for Turn 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway ((Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

One of the questions we had about the 2017 USF2000 season in our preview was: With five straight championships, will it be business as usual for Cape brothers, despite the brand new Mazda powered Tatuus USF-17?

Nothing is definitive until the checkered flag falls at Watkins Glen International on Labor Day weekend, but if early returns mean anything, expect to see a Cape Motorsports car at the sharp end of the grid in St. Petersburg.

“Obviously you never know where you are going to be, where you are going to stack up until everyone is together. We are very pleased with how it went,” explained team owner Nicolas Cape though a barely concealed cheeky grin. “Oliver (Askew) did a fantastic job, which we anticipated he would because he’s obviously a very talented young man. We’re very happy, we got to do our program and we stuck to it. We got to do our race runs in the last two sessions today and we did some qualifying simulations this morning. We made a lot of changes and ran through a bunch of different stuff, and I couldn’t be more pleased to be honest with you. Also, Ricky (Donison) struggled a little bit in the beginning of the test, but he came a long way towards the end of the day, so we’re really pleased with his progress and we think he’ll be really well at St. Pete.”

However, with seven drivers representing five teams within one second of Askew, expect the USF2000 title to be extremely entertaining.

The second question we had in our preview was:  Is this the year that a rookie can win the title?

The last time a rookie won the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda championship was in 2012 when Matthew Brabham just beat his Cape Motorsports teammate Spencer Pigot to the title.

If testing means anything, and that is always debatable, expect to see a few rookies fighting for the advancement scholarship for Pro Mazda.

Team Pelfrey sophomore Robert Megennis had the fifth quickest time of testing but was the quickest of the returning drivers. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

With rookies holding down the top four spots on the timesheet and six of the top 10 spots, the veterans have to be worried. We chatted with a number of veteran drivers (more on that in a breakout post), and while worried might be too strong of a word, there is definitely some concern.

Nineteen of 21 drivers turned their quickest laps during one of the three sessions today, with 12 of those drivers, including Askew, going fastest in today’s morning session.

The 21 drivers turned a total of 2,931 laps (6,477.5 miles) with Pabst Racing sophomore Lucas Kohl’s 170 circuits being the highest number of laps turned.

Combined Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda timesheet:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 1:23.9142 136
2 81 Kaylen Frederick Team Pelfrey 1:24.3181 143
3 38 Rinus Van Kalmthout Newman Wachs Racings 1:24.4653 142
4 37 Andre Castro Newman Wachs Racing 1:24.6664 134
5 80 Robert Megennis Team Pelfrey 1:24.6747 142
6 22 Calvin Ming Pabst Racing 1:24.7375 163
7 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 1:24.8296 138
8 31 Kyle Kirkwood Benik 1:25.0495 133
9 36 Dakota Dickerson Newman Wachs Racing 1:25.0892 138
10 82 Ayla Agren Team Pelfrey 1:25.1130 147
11 9 Victor Franzoni ArmsUp Motorsports 1:25.1383 129
12 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 1:25.2600 140
13 23 Lucas Kohl Pabst Racing 1:25.3061 170
14 12 Moisés de la Vara DEForce Racing 1:25.3097 137
15 91 Luke Gabin Exclusive Autosport 1:25.5477 133
16 2 Ricky Donison Cape Motorsports 1:25.6420 142
17 34 Kris Wright John Cummiskey Racing 1:25.6730 161
18 7 Devin Wojcik ArmsUp Motorsports 1:26.9532 138
19 92 Dev Gore Exclusive Autosport 1:26.9352 72
20 20 Chandler Horton RJB Motorsports 1:27.6053 142
21 8 Bruna Tomaselli ArmsUp Motorsports 1:28.1298 151

After day that included a steep learning curve and some issues with his car’s brakes, reigning Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda champion Anthony Martin showed his true form by leading the combined Pro Mazda time sheet after six hours of track time on the 2.21 mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.

Anthony Martin and his Soul Red No. 8 led Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire testing on the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Photo Courtesy of IndyCar)

Martin, who will be driving a Soul Red car this year, is only “testing” with Cape Motorsports (same wink, wink, nudge, nudge as Askew above) ended up with a quick lap time of 1 minute 23.6329 seconds. The Australian native was followed closely by Team Pelfrey trio of Carlos Cunha, Nikita Lastochkin and TJ Fischer, who were all within four-tenths of the top spot.

“The last couple of days have been a big learning curve. The first day didn’t go as planned for us but, like we always do, we bounced back and this second day has been very productive,” said the 21 year-old Martin.  “We’ve learned a lot about car setup and with my driving and, most importantly, we were quite fast. The biggest thing we worked on was driving, just getting me used to the car. I think the transition has gone well. This car has more power and more grip than the USF2000 car but it’s fun to learn. I’m a huge fan of the rotary engine so to have one of them strapped to the back side of me is quite awesome.”

“It was a very good test for me. Last week was my first time in this car and it’s very different to drive than the Formula 3 car,” explained Team Pelfrey rookie Cunha. “It has more power and I am still getting used to the tires and the difference in downforce. This year will be very challenging but I have two good teammates. I need to learn a lot – about the car and about the tracks. I’ve never driven on a street course before! This is an amazing championship and an amazing prize at the end of the year for the champion. I just need to believe in the team, in the car and, of course, I need to believe in myself, and I think we’ll have a good year.”

The first question that we asked about the 2017 Pro Mazda season in our preview was: Can anybody touch Team Pelfrey?

If testing is any indication, it appears that Cape Motorsports and Anthony Martin will be in the picture, but with the top four drivers covered by four-tenths of a second, we’ll need a few more events to make a final determination.

A pair of familiar yellow and black Team Pelfrey cars lead the World Speed Motorsports duo into Turn 6 on the 2.21 mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course (Photo Courtesy of IndyCar)

The second question we asked in our preview was: Who emerges as the team leader at Team Pelfrey?

Like the first question, the jury is still out on that. Cunha, Lastochkin, and Fisher all turned laps within three-tenths of a second of one another. The intra-team battle at Team Pelfrey should provide race fans with some terrific entertainment.

All seven of the drivers turned their quickest laps during one of the three sessions today, with five of those drivers, including Martin, going fastest in today’s morning session.

The seven drivers turned a total of 1,147 laps (2,534.9 miles) with World Speed Motorsports veteran Bobby Eberle’s 177 circuits leading the way.

Combined Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire timesheet:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 8 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 1:23.6329 150
2 81 Carlos Cunha Team Pelfrey 1:23.7299 141
3 80 Nikita Lastochkin Team Pelfrey 1:23.7980 155
4 82 TJ Fischer Team Pelfrey 1:24.0550 165
5 14 Sting Ray Robb World Speed Motorsports 1:25.4694 173
6 13 Bobby Eberle World Speed Motorsports 1:25.6393 177
7 5 Jeff Green Green Racing 1:26.7837 186

It wasn’t just the first two rungs of the MRTI ladder that were busy today, the 15 Indy Lights drivers entered for Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Cooper Tires were going through a road course of their own. Beginning with official portraits, moving onto interviews with Road To Indy TV and NBC Sports Network, and ending with a social media tutorial by Cooper Tire and Mazda, the drivers were sure kept busy on one of their off days. After the day long process to switch their Mazda powered Dallaras from oval to road course trim, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire teams and drivers will have a total of 6.5 hours of track time on the 2.21 mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.

Some flavor:

Patrick asked me to add a little more “flavor” to my TSO Ladder writing. I agree with him, and it’s something I’ve been meaning to do more of. So, here it goes…

When I searched for flights to come to the MRTI testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, my search yielded a very inexpensive flight to Fort Myers, Florida. I’m staying in Florida through the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (more on my other adventures, including two days at the Lucas Oil School of Racing, later next week) and am flying out of Tampa on the Sunday evening after the Grand Prix.

My flight arrived in the late afternoon and by the time I picked up my rental car (an upgrade to a Mustang, so no complaints) it was already dark. When I mapped the drive from Fort Myers to my accommodations in Florida City, the non-toll route was only 10 minutes longer, and since I’m proudly “frugal,” I clicked “go” on that route. Likely not my best choice, as the Tamiami Trail is a two-lane road through the heart of The Everglades. Thankfully there was very little traffic, which made the close to three-hour drive stress-free, but unfortunately, the highway is so dark and remote, they lower the night-time speed limit to 45mph. There are plenty of signs showing wilderness crossing the road, and I believe I did have an encounter with a small reptile. Sorry!

I arrived at my accommodations, an older, but clean, well-kept and completely remodeled motel, and tried to get right to sleep. That didn’t happen, and likely had a lot to do with the giant 44oz Mountain Dew I consumed in an effort to stay awake way past my bed-time. I finally fell asleep only to have my alarm go off a few hours later. It was time to head to a race track for the first time this year!!!

This is actually my first trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway, so it took me a little while to find the gate that I needed to enter, but once I did, I got set up in the media center and got to work.

A couple of things about Homestead-Miami Speedway immediately stand out. First, the majority of the structures and buildings are of the Art Deco style and color, similar to what you would find in nearby Miami Beach, Florida. Second, constantly seeing 482d Fighter Wing Air Reserve F-16’s from Homestead Air Reserve Base fly directly overhead is very cool and unique.

Monday night featured a meet-and-greet between the MRTI drivers, team members, series staff and me (the lone media member present). This is the second year that this event has taken place and it’s a great way to catch-up with old friends and get acquainted with new faces.

Even though we had a mild winter so far in Indianapolis, Indiana, the shock of the 80+ F temperatures and high humidity was quite a shock. I returned my hotel, decided to cool off with a quick dip in the pool and hit the hay really early.

On Tuesday morning, my alarm went off early and this time, I had no problem getting going. Since it was “Fat Tuesday”, and I resemble that descriptor, I headed to the nearest Publix grocery store in search of a Paczki. My Dad was in the bakery business and sold donuts to Publix, so I knew I would find my fix. I was not disappointed.

Soriano Brothers Cuban restaurant in Homestead, Florida. (Photo Courtesy of Steve Wittich)

After another hot and humid day at the track on Tuesday, I was ready for a good local dinner. I found my self in the mood for Cuban, and after a little bit of research online, I found Soriano Brothers. The open-air restaurant did not disappoint. The food options were endless, but mainly centered around pork. I chose to go with Masas De Peurcos Fritas (marinated pork that has been broiled in water and oil (so essentially fried), Arroz Congri (rice and black beans) and plantains. The pork was extremely flavorful and a great combination of sweet and heat, the portion was enormous (I’ll be eating it again tomorrow night), and it was extremely flavorful. I would definitely go back.

My fantastic meal of Masas De Peurcos Fritas, Arroz Congri, and plantains. It was enough to feed an entire family. (Photo courtesy of Steve Wittich)

Now I’m hungry again…

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, USF2000 News/Results
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Fisher (Pro Mazda) and Askew (USF2000) lead first day of MRTI testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Posted by  on Tuesday, February 28th 2017     

By Steve Wittich

I apologize for the lack of photographs. The Amazon S3 outage impacted the photo repository. They will be added to the story a little late. Thanks.

If you spent any amount of time in the pit boxes of Cape Motorsports, Newman Wachs Racing, and Team Pelfrey during the final Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda practice session, it quickly became obvious by the overt displays of emotion, that despite this only being a test session, ending the first official day of USF-17 testing at the top of the timesheets could help set the tone for the entire 2017 season.

The four quickest drivers ended the day separated by under two-tenths of a second. Rinus Van Kalmthout, who is testing this week with Newman Wachs Racings, led much of the session, but at the end of the session, a last-minute new tire run of 1 minute 24.562 seconds by MRTI $200K Scholarship Shootout winner Oliver Askew meant that the 20-year-old and his Cape Motorsports team would head to their hotel in a fantastic mood.

Van Kalmthout ended the day only five-hundredths of a second behind Askew and was followed closely by the Team Pelfrey duo of Robert Megennis and Kaylen Frederick, who ended the day only a tenth of a second behind Askew.

“It means a lot for sure,” explained a smiling Askew. “We’ve been testing in the offseason, and we’ve had five or six days now in the car before today. We’ve made a lot of progress, and I feel very comfortable in the car, but we came into this test with a little bit of question mark to see how we stacked up against the rest of the teams. Now, I’m extremely confident with the car and I’m happy to work to with Cape Motorsports.”

The first dozen drivers on the combined timesheet all ended the day within one second of Askew. Those 12 drivers represent seven of the 10 teams present for testing on the 2.21-mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.

The first session of the afternoon and second session of the day featured two red flags for cars that needed assistance. The safety team was able to get them restarted and both drivers were able to make it back to their pit stalls and continue the session with no damage.

Dev Gore and his No. 92 Exclusive Autosport Mazda/Tatuus did not make it on track for the final session of the day due to mechanical issues. Gore was disappointed to miss out on a session and was looking forward to having plenty of fresh Cooper Tire slicks to use on Wednesday.

Tuesday’s combined Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda timesheet:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 1:24.562 70
2 38 Rinus VeeKay Newman Wachs Racing 1:24.612 80
3 80 Robert Megennis Team Pelfrey 1:24.675 72
4 81 Kaylen Frederick Team Pelfrey 1:24.712 74
5 22 Calvin Ming Pabst Racing 1:25.006 76
6 37 Andre Castro Newman Wachs Racing 1:25.014 74
7 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 1:25.043 61
8 31 Kyle Kirkwood Benik 1:25.186 63
9 82 Ayla Agren Team Pelfrey 1:25.203 76
10 36 Dakota Dickerson Newman Wachs Racing 1:25.268 78
11 9 Victor Franzoni ArmsUp Motorsports 1:25.422 67
12 23 Lucas Kohl Pabst Racing 1:25.508 80
13 2 Ricky Donison Cape Motorsports 1:25.770 75
14 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 1:25.855 69
15 91 Luke Gabin Exclusive Autosport 1:25.869 67
16 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 1:26.005 68
17 34 Kris Wright John Cummiskey Racing 1:26.242 79
18 7 Devin Wojcik ArmsUp Motorsports 1:26.734 67
19 20 Chandler Horton RJB Motorsports 1:27.638 76
20 92 Dev Gore Exclusive Autosport 1:27.647 37
21 8 Bruna Tomaselli ArmsUp Motorsports 1:29.398 79

What do TJ Fischer, Nikita Lastochkin, and Carlos Cunha all have in common? Two things. All three drive for Team Pelfrey and all three led one of the three test sessions for the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire series on Tuesday.

Veteran driver TJ Fischer led the first session this morning and ended up with the quickest lap of the day. The 1 minute 24.442-second lap topped the time charts but was only 3 hundredths of a second quicker than Lastochkin’s best lap in the second session of the day. Cunha and Cape Motorsports’ Anthony Martin were both only two-tenths of a second off of Fischer’s pace.

“It was a good first day of testing. I’ve never been to Homestead and we aren’t racing here, so we get what we can out of the test,” explained Fisher. “It was positive. The group of guys we have around us right now. These guys are really quick teammates. Constantly working at it and you really have to be pushing the whole time because everybody is getting quicker. As the sessions go on, the gaps are going to come down. For u, we’re just going to keep plugging away with it. We did the qualifications runs and the race runs afterwords, so we got the whole spectrum. For me, I’m still learning. There is a ton to learn out there.”

The seven drivers combined for a total of 554 laps with Jeff Green’s 89 circuits leading the way. Both sessions ran green with no stoppages.

Tuesday’s combined Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire timesheet:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 82 TJ Fischer Team Pelfrey 1:24.442 85
2 80 Nikita Lastochkin Team Pelfrey 1:24.471 75
3 81 Carlos Cunha Team Pelfrey 1:24.622 60
4 8 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 1:24.652 74
5 13 Bobby Eberle World Speed Motorsports 1:25.742 88
6 14 Sting Ray Robb World Speed Motorsports 1:26.0877 83
7 5 Jeff Green Green Racing 1:26.8749 89

The schedule for tomorrow is:

  • 9am – 10am — Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda test session #4
  • 10:15am – 11:15am — Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire test session #4
  • 11:30am – 12:30pm — Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda test session #5
  • 1:30pm – 2:30pm — Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire test session #5
  • 2:45pm – 3:45pm — Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda test session #6
  • 4pm – 5:15pm — Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire test session #6

Notebook:

  • Each of the teams are allocated two sets of sticker Cooper Tire slicks for each day of the test, so they do have to judicious in their use. Most teams spent the majority of the first session on tires left over from testing before putting on sticker tires to end the session. Tire “strategies” for the remaining two session varied.
  • The last time that the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda series officially took to the 2.1 mile, Homestead-Miami Speedway 14-turn road course was during winter testing in preparation for the 2015 season. The quickest lap in that event was a lap at 1:24.8059 by Victor Franzoni, meaning that that the brand new car is already quicker than the venerable Van Diemen that had over a decade of development.
  • The 2.1 mile, Homestead-Miami Speedway 14-turn road course has hosted a number of different road racing series including: ACCUS Florida Winter Series, F4 United States Championship Powered by Honda, FIA GT, Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series, SCCA US Road Racing Championship, Trans-Am, and US F2000 Winterfest. The 14-turn circuit features nine left-hand turns and six right-hand turns.

The 2.21-mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course (Photo courtesy of Homestead-Miami Speedway)

  • Johnny Unser has been named the new race director for the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire series. Unser, an IndyCar, IMSA and 24 Hours of Le Mans veteran, is the son of racer Jerry Unser and cousins of Al Unser, Jr. and Robby Unser. Unser was the Champ Car Atlantic Championship race director in 2008 and has extensive experience in IndyCar race control.
  • The National Class will feature 2001-2009 Van Dieman and 2010-present Elan Motorsports Technologies DP-08s with components provided by Andersen Promotions, an authorized manufacturer or supplier. So essentially the previous generation USF2000 car.
  • Tatiana Calderón, who had two podiums in two seasons of Pro Mazda (2010 and 2011) signed a deal to become a development driver for the Sauber F1 Team and also to compete with Dams Racing in GP3.

https://twitter.com/TataCalde/status/836578202457890817

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, USF2000 News/Results
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Opening sessions of USF2000 and Pro Mazda testing are complete. Askew (USF2000) and (Pro Mazda) lead the way.

Posted by  on Tuesday, February 28th 2017     

At exactly 9am the heavy South Florida air was filled with the buzz of Mazda MZR 2.0L power plants powering a swarm of brand new Tatuus USF-17s that took to the 2.21-mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.

One of the big question marks entering the first season of USF-17 competition is which team will have the early advantage in developing the new car. For the past five years, the series has been dominated by drivers from the Cape Motorsports stable, and it was a rookie driver from their two car effort that led the first official 2017 USF2000 session.

MRTI $200K Scholarship Shootout winner and Team USA Scholarship winner Oliver Askew and his No. 3 Cape Motorsports Mazda/Tatuus turned the quickest lap of the session at 1:24.8257. Askew has not officially signed as of today, but TSO fully expects to see Askew’s Soul Red machine in the St. Petersburg, Florida based team’s stable.

It was two other unsigned drivers, Kaylen Frederick (Team Pelfrey) and Rinus Van Kalmthout (Newman Wachs Racing) that fell second and third on the time sheet, and Frederick’s Team Pelfrey teammates Ayla Agren and Robert Megennis who rounded out the top five.

Five different teams were represented among the top seven lap times, with Pabst Racing and Exclusive Autosport joining Cape Motorsports, Team Pelfrey and Newman Wachs Racing.

The majority of the session was led by the 16 year-old Van Kalmthout, but when the teams went to fresh rubber in the final fifteen minutes of the session, he fell down the time sheet.

The entire one hour session ran clean and green and the 21 drivers representing 10 different teams turned a total of 487 laps with Van Kalmthout’s 30 circuits representing the most laps turned.

Complete USF2000 time sheet:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP GAP TOTAL LAPS
1 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 1:24.826 0.000 22
2 81 Kaylen Frederick Team Pelfrey 1:25.095 0.2689 26
3 38 Rinus VeeKay Newman Wachs Racing 1:25.172 0.3464 30
4 82 Ayla Agren Team Pelfrey 1:25.203 0.3770 27
5 80 Robert Megennis Team Pelfrey 1:25.236 0.4098 25
6 22 Calvin Ming Pabst Racing 1:25.240 0.4140 31
7 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 1:25.937 1.1117 12
8 23 Lucas Kohl Pabst Racing 1:26.020 1.1945 27
9 37 Andre Castro Newman Wachs Racing 1:26.130 1.3044 22
10 2 Ricky Donison Cape Motorsports 1:26.385 1.5593 24
11 36 Dakota Dickerson Newman Wachs Racing 1:26.462 1.6363 26
12 31 Kyle Kirkwood Benik 1:26.573 1.7476 22
13 34 Kris Wright John Cummiskey Racing 1:27.023 2.1975 27
14 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 1:27.181 2.3552 25
15 20 Chandler Horton RJB Motorsports 1:27.638 2.8125 21
16 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 1:27.668 2.8428 22
17 91 Luke Gabin Exclusive Autosport 1:27.719 2.8933 16
18 9 Victor Franzoni ArmsUp Motorsports 1:28.579 3.7534 27
19 92 Dev Gore Exclusive Autosport 1:29.606 4.7799 12
20 8 Bruna Tomaselli ArmsUp Motorsports 1:30.180 5.3538 23
21 7 Devin Wojcik ArmsUp Motorsports 1:30.476 5.6506 20

Newly signed Team Pelfrey Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire driver Nikita Lastochkin led the seven Pro Mazda drivers who completed a total of 182 laps in the one-hour session that ran green the entire time.

Complete Pro Mazda time sheet:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP GAP TOTAL LAPS
1 80 Nikita Lastochkin Team Pelfrey 1:24.471 0.000 29
2 8 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 1:24.652 0.1813 31
3 82 TJ Fischer Team Pelfrey 1:24.924 0.4535 31
4 13 Bobby Eberle World Speed Motorsports 1:26.332 1.8613 29
5 14 Sting Ray Robb World Sport Motorsports 1:26.817 2.3456 23
6 81 Carlos Cunha Team Pelfrey 1:27.570 3.0994 11
7 5 Jeff Green Green Racing 1:31.279 6.8084 28

The schedule for the remainder of the day is:

  • 12:15pm – 1:15pm — Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda test session #2
  • 1:30pm – 2:30pm — Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire test session #2
  • 2:45pm – 3:45pm — Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda test session #3
  • 4pm – 5:15pm — Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire test session #3
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, USF2000 News/Results
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Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway – Steve’s preview

Posted by  on Saturday, February 25th 2017     

By Steve Wittich

Over the course of four days between February 27, 2017 and March 2, 2017, the three levels of the Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire ladder will take to the 1.5-mile oval (Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire only) and 2.21-mile, 14-turn road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first and only official test before the season kicks off with Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda practice on Thursday, March 9, 2017 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

TSO Ladder will have full on-site, in-depth coverage of the four day test.

Here are two questions for each series that we hope to have answers for by the time the roar of the Mazda engines go silent on Thursday afternoon.

Two questions, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire edition. 

1) It is only testing, can we learn anything about who will be in championship contention for the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship when the series heads to Watkins Glen International in six months?

Possibly.

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series conducted an official two-day test on the 2.21-mile, 14-turn road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway at the end of January in 2016.

That test was led by Belardi Auto Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who’s quickest lap time of 1:14.4371 topped the swiftest laps turned by Santiago Urrutia, and Ed Jones by less than one-tenth of a second. Those three drivers combined to win half of the 18 races in 2016, and Jones and Urrutia battled for the title until the very last lap during the finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in September.

While it’s not guaranteed that the drivers who end the test on top of the timesheet on Thursday evening will be in championship contention come Labor Day weekend, it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see the speediest drivers dueling it out for the scholarship to end the season.

2) Who is the first driver to assert themselves among the rookies and the veterans? 

The 14 entries for the season’s first official test is split evenly among seven veteran drivers and seven rookie drivers.

If the past two seasons of Indy Lights competition are any indication of what fans will see in 2017, expect to see rookies and veterans battling for wins and the championship from the drop of the green flag in St. Petersburg in two weeks. But, first the veterans and rookies must sort out who amongst themselves will be fighting at the pointy end of the field.

Past results would lead one to believe that the battle to be the top veteran would be between Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) and Santiago Urrutia (Belardi Auto Racing), a pair of 20 year-olds, who have stood on the top step of the podium a total of six times between them.

But, it wouldn’t be wise to count out a jump in performance from Neil Alberico (Carlin), Shelby Blackstock (Belardi Auto Racing), Zachary Claman DeMelo (Carlin), Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport), or Juan Piedrahita (Team Pelfrey). All five drivers have shown they have the pace to be on the podium. Could one of them be this year’s surprise?

If the first two seasons of IL-15 completion are any indication, don’t be surprised to see 2016 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire champion Aaron Telitz (team TBA) fighting for wins and the championship. In 2015, Spencer Pigot won back-to-back championships, and last year, 2017 Pro Mazda champ Santiago Urrutia battled with Ed Jones for the crown.

Looking strictly at past racing resumes, one would could conclude that 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Champion Matheus Leist (Carlin), 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda champion Nico Jamin (Andretti Autosport), and five time Formula 3 race winner Colton Herta (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing), would be the drivers most likely to challenge Telitz.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire Homestead-Miami Speedway spring training entry list. 

Indy Lights schedule

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Two questions, the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire edition? 

1) Can anybody touch Team Pelfrey?

The Indianapolis, Indiana based Team Pelfrey dominated the 2016 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire season by winning 13 of the 16 races, and finishing first and second in the championship.

The two day test at Homestead-Miami Speedway will serve as an exit-poll for the 2017 season, to see if World Speed Motorsports or Cape Motorsports will have anything for the black and yellow Mazda Renesis powered machines of Team Pelfrey.

2) Who emerges as the team leader at Team Pelfrey?

TJ Fischer, who has the most experience at the wheel of a Pro Mazda car. Nikita Lastochkin, who spent the past two months gaining valuable seat time in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand.  Or, will it be Carlos Cunha, a Brazilian who has two years of South American Formula 3 experience under his belt.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire Homestead-Miami Speedway spring training entry list. 

Two questions, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda edition

1) With five straight championships, will it be business as usual for the Cape Motorsports, or will the brand new Mazda powered Tatuus USF-17 shake things up?

Matthew Brabham, Scott Hargrove, Florian Latorre, Nico Jamin, and Anthony Martin have brought home five consecutive driver’s championship for the St. Petersburg, Florida based, Dominic and Nicholas owned Cape Motorsports.

However, if the introduction of the new Indy Lights IL-15 taught us anything in 2015, it is that the status quo is certainly not safe when new equipment is introduced. In the decade prior to the introduction of the new Indy Lights car in 2015, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports won the majority of races and six of the ten championships. After the introduction of the IL-15, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports experienced stout competition from Indy Lights main stays Belardi Auto Racing, and newcomers Carlin, and Juncos Racing.

It would be surprising if Cape Motorsports was not near the top of the time sheets at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but don’t be surprised if they have close company from experienced teams like Pabst Racing and Team Pelfrey, and newcomers like Newman Wachs Racing and Exclusive Autosport.

It will likely be apparent by the end of the day which team or teams has gotten an early handle on setting up the USF-17.

2) Is this the year that a rookie can win the title?

Over the past few years, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda championship has become a series dominated by veteran drivers.

The last time a rookie won the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda championship was in 2012 when Matthew Brabham beat his Cape Motorsports teammate Spencer Pigot to the title by a scant seven point margin.

The last time a rookie driver won a Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda race was in 2014, when Jake Eidson, Aaron Telitz and Victor Franzoni all won races.

Will highly touted rookies Oliver Askew (Team TBA), Andre Castro (Newman Wachs Racing), Rinus Van Kalmthout (Newman Wachs Racing) and Kyle Kirkwood (Benik) be able to challenge veterans Dakota Dickerson (Newman Wachs Racing), Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey), Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey), Parker Thompson (Exclusive Autosport) and Luke Gabin (Exclusive Autosport). Only time will tell, but we should have a good idea of how the rookies stack up by Wednesday evening when the two-day test comes to an end.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda Homestead-Miami Speedway spring training entry list

Pro Mazda and USF2000 schedule

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Don’t miss any of the action:

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Pro Mazda News/Results, USF2000 News/Results
tags: , , , , , ,

Group-A Racing Enters USF2000 with Tatuus USF-17’s

Posted by  on Thursday, September 29th 2016     

 

Group A Logo

GROUP-A RACING ENTERS USF2000 WITH TATUUS USF-17’S

Lindenhurst, New York – Group-A Racing is pleased to announce its entry into the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda with the purchase of new Tatuus USF-17’s. The teams’ return to USF2000 comes in a new era with the debut of the new state-of-the-art Tatuus USF-17 with which the team is planning a two to three car effort, along with a one to two car program in the National Class using the previous generation Van Diemen.

Group-A Racing is a Long Island-based team started in 1996 when it originally competed in the USF2000 Series. It’s debut took place at the now defunct Walt Disney World Speedway competing against names like Sam Schmidt, Steve Knapp, Augie Pabst, Alex Barron, Jason Bright, Sam Hornish Jr and many others. The team started on the outside pole in a field that had 67 entries, and led the majority of the race.

Since then the team has gone on to have a lot of success in both open wheel and sports car series, winning races and having championship efforts. The team is filled with a very experienced staff such as lead engineer Ian Brown, who has spent the past 30 years in race engineering mainly in IndyCar, Australian V8 Supercars and Indy Lights, and working for some of the biggest names such as Andretti, Holden and Herta.

The team has taken delivery of its first USF-17 car this week, and have chosen to skip the Chris Griffis test next week to make sure nothing is rushed and everything is properly prepared for the first outing. The team will start testing with potential drivers the beginning of November at its winter base in MSR Houston.

“I am really excited about returning to USF2000 next season,” said team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “The series has so much momentum behind it with all the support from INDYCAR, Mazda and Cooper Tire plus you have this beautiful new USF-17 car. The field is going to be massive with some incredible competition. I am really looking forward to giving our drivers all the tools they need on and off the track to go win races and hopefully a championship, earning the Mazda scholarship to Pro Mazda.”

The team will be based at MSR Houston for the winter giving them about 15-20 potential test days a month and drastically reducing cost. Drivers interested in testing and racing with the team can contact them via GroupARacing@aol.com

Source: Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda PR

TSO Ladder Note #1: 

Group-A Racing will be a fun AND professional addition to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda series in 2017. Based on Long Island, New York, there is no doubt that the Scarallo family will bring a New York flavor to the paddock (and that’s not a bad thing). Led by “Poppa Joe” and Jonathan Scarallo, the team has been in the racing game for two decades, including stints in USF2000, Trans-Am, Pirelli World Challenge, F2000 Championship Series, Formula Lites and the F4 United States Championship Powered by Honda.

Joe Scarallo Sr. uses his business experience, founding and running Group-A /Autotrend Wheels and Tires, since 1983, to make sure the team has the best personal and equipment available.

Team manager Jonathan Scarallo, grew up at the race track and was a successful racer as well, winning 13 times and stating on the podium 30 times in various F2000 series between 2007 and 2010.

With experienced IndyCar level engineer Ian Brown developing  the brand new Mazda powered Tatuus USF-17 for the team, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them at the pointy end of the grid when the season begins at St. Petersburg in March.

TSO Ladder Note #2: We found video of the start of the above mentioned 1996 USF2000 race from Walt Disney World. As noted there was a good field of future Indy Car and Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire drivers and team owners. Also of note was the commentary team that featured Vince Welch on play-by-play and Donald Davidson.

You can follow Group-A Racing on the following social media channels.

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO
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2017 MRTI schedule features complete immersion with INDYCAR, Watkins Glen International finales, and new ovals

Posted by  on Wednesday, September 14th 2016     

MRTI logo

For the first time ever, every single Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire race will take place in conjunction with a Verizon IndyCar Series event.

Some highlights include: all thee series finales occurring at Watkins Glen International on Labor Day Weekend, Indy Lights returning to Gateway Motorsports Park, Pro Mazda making their first appearance at Gateway Motorsports Park, and USF2000 making their first appearance at Iowa Speedway since 2010.

“I am very pleased with our 2017 schedules,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Not only will they assist both teams and drivers with budgets, they allow us to showcase the Mazda Road to Indy ladder alongside IndyCar at premier venues while once again providing our drivers with experience on ovals, road and street courses.

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire teams and drivers will contest 16 races over 10 events, with doubleheaders occurring at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Road America, Toronto, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Print

Due to the a 2018 transition to the Tatuus PM-18 the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire season will feature a condensed six event, 12 race calendar. In addition to a shorter schedule leading to decreased budgets, Andersen Promotions and Mazda Motorsports are also offering some more inducements to increase interest in the middle rung of ladder: 1) the Mazda Motorsports advancement scholarship will increase in value from $601, 700 to $790,300, covering a larger portion of an Indy Lights budget, 2) each of the top thee in the championship will be eligible to receive a one day Indy Ligths test, and 3) the Pro Mazda rookie of the year will receive the Mazda street car of their choice.

“With the in-between year for Pro Mazda before the PM-18, we’ve added what we feel is an excellent incentive package to attract more teams and drivers to the grid, including a summer testing program with the new chassis,” explained Andersen. “Mazda and Cooper Tires’ commitment to the ladder is as strong as ever, and once again I have to thank them for being such tremendous partners.”

2017_SCHEDULES_PROMAZDA_23

The brand new Mazda powered Tatuus USF-17 will take part in eight events and 14 races. With the first 15 chassis arriving in Norfolk, Virginia in the last week, the first batch of orders should start arriving at team shops any day now, and the car will make it’s public debut at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 8-9, 2016.

“The Dallara IL-15 revitalized Indy Lights competition and I foresee our field counts growing significantly in 2017” said Andersen. We expect the same with USF2000 and the new car, where I do expect 30+ fields.”

2017_SCHEDULES_USF2000

The NBC Sports Network will once again be airing one-hour broadcasts of all Indy Lights races and IndyCar Radio will provide coverage on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, indycar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR App from Verizon.

Available on-demand via Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku, Road To Indy TV will feature expanded coverage in 2017.

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Mazda makes dreams come true on-the track AND off-the-track during “Soul Red Finale” weekend

Posted by  on Tuesday, September 13th 2016     

MRTI logo

The 2016 Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire season officially came to a close on Monday night as drivers, teams, family and sponsors from all three steps of the ladder gathered at the Montery Plaza Hotel for their season ending banquet where $2.3 million in prizes were distributed

Included in that total was $1,964,700 in Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarships that were distributed to the three season-long champions.

“Mazda is honored to continue with the Mazda Road to Indy. Each year, we see a new crop of talent come through and at the end of the day there can only be one winner in each series, and we saw three terrific drivers crowned this evening,” said John Doonan, Director of Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations. “Our intention is to give drivers a clear path, and nothing like this exists anywhere else in the world. We are very proud of that and we hope to continue to see drivers go to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 with the Mazda Road to Indy as their path. Just yesterday, someone asked me if Mazda would go to the Indianapolis 500 and I said – we already do.” (TSO note: 23 of the 33 starters in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 have Indy Lights experience).

The three Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire champions, Anthony Martin, Ed Jones, and Aaron Telitz, took home a total of $1,964,700 in Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarships (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The three Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire champions, Anthony Martin, Ed Jones, and Aaron Telitz, took home a total of $1,964,700 in Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarships (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Anthony Martin winner of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda title took home $363,000. The 21-year old Australian will also receive original artwork by Jim Swintal that was commissioned by Cooper Tire.

“It’s such a big accomplishment and it’s going to take some time to sink in. I just won the USF2000 championship in America, against some very talented drivers, so for me, my family, my friends and all my supporters, I couldn’t be happier,” beamed Martin.   “Facebook and Twitter has just gone through the roof! I just can’t believe it. We’ll take a few days’ rest and then get straight back into it. We’ll do some testing and push hard toward next year in the Pro Mazda car. I’m looking forward to working with Mazda and Cooper Tires and I know it will be a great year.”

Aaron Telitz, took home the $601,700 Mazda scholarship for winning the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire title. Added to that total is $7,500 for winning the BBS Rookie of The Year, and Cooper Tire commissioned artwork by Jim Swintal.

“It’s slowly sinking in that I’m going to get to drive an Indy Lights car in 2017. I’m trying to take it slow, celebrating now with friends and family, but then I’ll go home and get to work on next season,” said Telitz, who won his second Mazda Advancement Scholarship. “It’s incredible, to be down as I was in the championship and to come back and win. It will take me some time to process how I did that or to put it in to words. Mazda and Cooper Tires do so much for the series. If you win, you have a chance to move on. That’s how I started my racing career and that’s how it is going to continue. I’m really excited for the future.”

The biggest winner of the night was Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire title winner Ed Jones, who along with his $1,000,000 Mazda scholarship guaranteeing him entry to at least three Verizon IndyCar Series races, including the Indianapolis 500, took home: the $25,000 Cosworth Champion’s Cash Award, the $25,000 Dallara Champion’s Parts Credit and original artwork by Jim Swintal, that was commissioned by Cooper Tire.

“It’s still sinking in. Yesterday was an amazing achievement by the whole Carlin team,” exclaimed Jones. “The realization is really just coming through that I’ll be in the Indianapolis 500 next year. I’ll enjoy this during this week but then we’ll start working on getting the deal sorted, trying to get a full ride as well. I can’t thank Mazda and Cooper enough for what they’ve done for drivers like myself, to have the opportunity to be in IndyCar – there’s no other ladder system like this in the world. I can’t wait to get back into an Indy car, to get up to speed properly. We’ve been speaking with teams so hopefully we can sort something out soon. But for now, I’ll enjoy what we’ve accomplished in 2016.”

The complete list of all of the award is at the bottom of this post.

Also announced at the banquet were the newest inductees into Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire Hall of Fame. Enshrined this year are:

  • U.E. “Pat” Patrick, and Roger Bailey who founded the forerunner to Indy Lights, the American Racing Series in 1986
  • Former MRTI drivers Chuck West, Peter Dempsey, Tonis Kasemets, and Spencer Pigot.

Dan Anderson, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions also made a few other announcements at the banquet.

  • The 2017 Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire schedule will be released tomorrow (Wednesday, September 14, 2016).
  • The Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire championship winner in 2017 will receive a scholarship and other prizes valued at $800,000.

It’s not only the drivers that benefit from the Mazda’s generosity during the “Soul Red Finale” weekend.

On Thursday afternoon, before on-track activity began a group of 20 MRTI and MRT24 drivers took the opportunity to tour the Monterey County SPCA, who’s facility is located directly across Highway 68 from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver contemplate taking this puppy home (Photo by Steve Wittich)

Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver contemplate taking this puppy home (Photo by Steve Wittich)

The ten year relationship between the shelter and manufacturer has resulted in Mazda Motorsports providing over $100,000 in monetary support for the animal welfare organization. The relationship between the two organizations also doesn’t end there, as both organizations help co-promote each other and their events.

I (Steve) was lucky enough to attend this event and it was great to see a very different side of the drivers.

Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire drivers Parker Thompson, Neil Alberico, and Shelby Blackstock look on as Ayla Agren makes a new friend (photo by Steve Wittich)

Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire drivers Parker Thompson, Neil Alberico, and Shelby Blackstock look on as Ayla Agren makes a new friend (photo by Steve Wittich)

For the second year in a row, during the Sunday lunch break, one of my very favorite moments of 2015 at any race track was duplicated

Mazda Motorsports invited three wounded veterans for a weekend at the track on the manufacturer, and these heroes had no idea that their lives were about to change.

Army Specialist Alberto Diaz, who was wounded in an IED attack in Afghanistan, and Lance Corporal Arturo Weber, who has had surgery over 80 times after being wounded in Iraq were both given keys to two Mazda CX-9’s. The pair of Mazda’s largest crossovers were parked on pit road and the two veterans were told that only one of the CX-9’s would start, however, when the keys were turned, both vehicles started.

It was a stirring moment that brought tears to the eyes of the veterans, families and the large group of gathered on-lookers, that included all of the drivers competing in the five different series.

However, the giving was not finished, as Mazda and Building Homes For Heroes had one more surprise.

Sergeant Mitchell Melott, who lost his left leg to an IED in Iraq was also presented with a set of key. This time, the keys didn’t fit a Mazda, but were for the front door of Melott’s new mortgage free home.

Truly an amazing weekend of giving by Mazda.

Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Award Winners:

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

  • Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Champion ($1 million scholarship) – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Second place ($75,000) – Santi Urrutia, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/Curb-Agajanian
  • Third place ($50,000) – Kyle Kaiser, Juncos Racing
  • Fourth place ($25,000) – Zach Veach, Belardi Auto Racing
  • Fifth place ($10,000) – Dean Stoneman, Andretti Autosport
  • Indy Lights Rookie of the Year Award ($15,000) – Santi Urrutia, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/Curb-Agajanian
  • Tilton Hard Charger Award ($1,000) – Zachary Claman De Melo, Juncos Racing
  • Indy Lights Team Championship ($15,000, plus $5,000 from SSTube) – Carlin
  • Indy Lights INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – Tom Edwards, Carlin
  • Hi-Tide Boat Lifts Kids On Track Spirit Award ($5,000) – Zach Veach, Belardi Auto Racing
  • Royal Purple “Slickest Pass” Award ($5,000) – Felix Serralles, Carlin
  • Dallara Bent Pushrod Award ($2,000) – Carlin
  • Jostens Indy Lights Champion’s Ring – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Freedom 100 Champion’s Ring – Dean Stoneman, Andretti Autosport
  • Mazda Road to Indy Rings (drivers contesting all three levels) – Neil Alberico, Garett Grist, Dalton Kellett
  • American Racing Winning Driver Team Owner Trophy (set of street wheels) – Trevor Carlin
  • Cosworth Champion’s Cash Award ($25,000) – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Dallara Champion’s Parts Credit ($25,000) – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Original artwork by Jim Swintal – Ed Jones, Carlin

 

Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires 

  • Pro Mazda Champion ($601,700 scholarship) – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey
  • Second place ($25,000) – Pato O’Ward, Team Pelfrey
  • Third place ($12,500) – Nico Jamin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Fourth place ($7,500) – Will Owen, Juncos Racing
  • Fifth place ($5,000) – Nicolas Dapero, Juncos Racing
  • BBS Rookie of the Year ($7,500) – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey
  • Pro Mazda National Class Champion – Bobby Eberle, JDC MotorSports
  • Pro Mazda Team Championship ($7,500) – Team Pelfrey
  • Pro Mazda INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – Joe Haynes, Team Pelfrey
  • Hi-Tide Boat Lifts Kids On Track Spirit Award ($5,000) – Nico Jamin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Royal Purple “Slickest Pass” Award ($5,000) – Will Owen, Juncos Racing
  • Carl Haas Auto Golden Wishbone Award – Team Pelfrey
  • Quarter Master Hard Charger Award ($1,000) – Will Owen, Juncos Racing
  • Jostens Pro Mazda Champion’s Ring – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey
  • PFC Pro Mazda Team Award ($1,000 product certificate) – Team Pelfrey
  • Original artwork by Jim Swintal – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey

 

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda

  • USF2000 Champion ($363,850 scholarship) – Anthony Martin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Second place ($10,000) – Parker Thompson, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Third place ($5,000) – Victor Franzoni, ArmsUp Motorsports
  • Fourth place ($3,000) – Jordan Lloyd, Pabst Racing
  • Fifth place ($2,000) – Luke Gabin, JAY Motorsports
  • Rookie of the Year ($1,500) – Robert Megennis, Team Pelfrey
  • USF2000 National Class Champion – Eric Filgueiras, Spencer Racing
  • USF2000 Team Championship ($4,000) – Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • USF2000  INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – Jake Strack, ArmsUp Motorsports
  • Hi-Tide Boat Lifts Kids On Track Spirit Award ($5,000) – Victor Franzoni, ArmsUp Motorsports
  • Royal Purple “Slickest Pass” Award ($5,000) – Parker Thompson, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Carl Haas Auto Golden Wishbone Award – Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Tilton Hard Charger Award ($1,000 product certificate) – Robert Megennis, Team Pelfrey
  • Jostens USF2000 Champion’s Ring – Anthony Martin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • PFC USF2000 Team Award ($1,000 product certificate) – Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Original artwork by Jim Swintal – Anthony Martin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO

Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – “Soul Red Finale” Race #2 – title decider

Posted by  on Sunday, September 11th 2016     

USF2000 logo

For the second straight day, it was Victor Franzoni who won the battle, but it was Anthony Martin who won the season long war for the $363,000 Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship.

When the day started, we knew that one of two Cape Motorsports with /WTR pilots would become the sixth straight driver from the St. Petersburg, Florida based team to win the driver’s championship.

It was a typical all-out, but at the same time measured driver that allows Martin to join Petri Savant, fellow Australian Matthew Brabham, Scott Hargrove, Florian Latorre, and Nico Jamin as drivers to win the championship for brothers Dominc and Nicholas Cape.

The championship won by Martin today is the first in cars for the 21 year-old from Kalgoorlie, Australia. The previous best championship finish for the 2015 USF2000 Rookie of the Year was a second place finish in the 2014 Western Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2014.

Martin’s impressive year included seven trips to the top step of the podium and a total of 11 trips to the podium in 16 races.

Although he fell 21 points shy of winning the big prize, Thompson certainly proved he belongs in Pro Mazda next season collecting four wins, and 11 podiums, and driving with a maturity beyond his 18 years. The Canadian driver never lost his head, and raced his older teammate cleanly all season, and even when faced with elimination on the first lap of today’s race, the two drivers gave each other room to race.

Franzoni and his No. 9 ArmsUp Motorsports rocket ship were once again hooked up and dominated the entire weekend on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course, winning the second-half of the “Soul Red Finale” double header by over 10 seconds. It was the third win of the year and tenth podium of the year for the always smiling Brazilian, who finished the season with a dozen straight top four finishes.

When the green flag fell, pole-sitter Franzoni got the jump on championship leader and out-side front row starter Martin. Thompson closely followed Franzoni and was able to get inside his Cape Motorsports with /WTR teammate into Turn 2 and pull off the pass to slot into second behind Franzoni.

Martin was able to get a better run off of Turn 4 and attempted to get inside Thompson at Turn 5, but the Canadian shut the door on the Australian. Martin looked to the outside of Thompson heading into “The Corkscrew” but tucked in behind his teammate and was able to make a daring pass on the inside in the “Rainey Corner,” to regain his second starting spot.

At the end of the first lap the running order was: Franzoni, Martin, Thompson, Lloyd, Gabin, Lastochkin, Luo, Kohl, Megennis, Scott, Das, Dickerson, Rickards, Frederick, Denes, Ottis, and Armington.

The biggest movers on the first lap were rookies Dakota Dickerson and Robert Megennis who had both gained two spots.

The 17 car field quickly settled into a rhythm while the drivers figured out how their Mazda powered Van Diemans were going to handle.

At the one-third point of the race (10 of 30 minutes), Franzoni was able to pull out to almost a six-second lead over Martin. Martin was busy trying to hold Thompson, who had parked himself on the rear wing of Martin’s No. 8. Australians Lloyd and Gabin rounded out the top five.

With ten minutes left in the race, Franzoni had stretched his gap over Martin to a massive 8.4 seconds. Behind Franzoni, Martin continued to hold off Thompson with the gap remaining under one second. Martin’s fellow Australians Lloyd and Gabin continued to hold down the final two spots in the top five.

On lap 12, Garth Rickards and Team Pelfrey newcomer Phillipe Dennes were battling for 12th spot when the No. 22 Pabst Racing machine of Rickards looped it coming off the final turn. Rickards kept it running, but fell down to 16th and ended up finishing … , capping off what was a disappointing year for the sophomore from Pensylvania.

The best battle on track in the final laps was between Yufeng Luo, Robert Megennis, and Lucas Kohl for seventh, and Cameron Das, Dakota Dickerson and Phillipe Denes for 10th.

On the penultimate lap, Megennis was able to get by Luo, but the Chinese born pilot was able to get back around Megennis on the final lap.

Even though his final pass of the race didn’t stick, Megginnis ended the year as the top rookie points scorer and also the top “passer” of the year. The 16 year-old ended up improving 56 spots over his starting position in the 16 races.

On the final lap, Dickerson was able to get by Das for the final spot in the top 10. Denes was also able to get by Das, completing an impressive debut Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire weekend for the Team Pelfrey F1600 Formula F Championship Series driver. Denes, who is only 17 finished sixth and 11th, taking home the “award” for top newcomer in each race.

Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Monterey Powered by Mazda race #2

RANK DRIVER GAP
1 Victor Franzoni 21 laps
2 Anthony Martin -10.1026
3 Parker Thompson -11.5031
4 Jordan Lloyd -12.4714
5 Luke Gabin -13.7835
6 Nikita Lastochkin -18.7233
7 Yufeng Luo -27.7787
8 Robert Megennis -27.9584
9 Lucas Kohl -28.291
10 Dakota Dickerson -30.9073
11 Phillippe Denes -31.27
12 Cameron Das -32.1858
13 Kaylen Frederick -32.6949
14 Michael Scott -33.3788
15 Garth Rickards -44.7186
16 Tazio Ottis -47.4708
17 Robert Armington -1 lap
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO
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Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – “Soul Red Finale” Race #1

Posted by  on Saturday, September 10th 2016     

USF2000 logo

For the second time this year and fourth time in his Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire career, Victor Franzoni stood on the top step of the podium.

Victor Franzoni was all smiles after winning his second Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Victor Franzoni was all smiles after winning his second Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Franzoni nabbed all 33 points, but was still eliminated from championship contention with podium finishes by Cape Motorsports with /WTR teammates Parker Thompson and Anthony Martin, the two drivers he was chasing.

Thompson came into the “Soul Red Finale” weekend 21 points behind Martin in the chase for $363,000 Mazda Motorsports scholarship, and by beating his teammate to the checkered flag, he has moved to within 18 points of Martin.

Thompson said he has no pressure on him this weekend and all he needs to do is keep proving that he belongs in Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire next year.

If Thompson scores the maximum of 32 points tomorrow, Martin needs to finish sixth or better to hold onto the championship.

The first run down the hill into the Andretti Hairpin was clean but chaotic at the same time. Michael Scott, making his first Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire start, started the race

At the end of the first lap the running order was: Franzoni, Martin, Thompson, Gabin, Lloyd, Luo, Dickerson, Lastochkin, Megennis, Rickards, Denes, Frederick, Kohl, Scott, Das, Ottis and Armington.

By lap seven, Franzoni had pulled away to a dominating 56 second lead, but behind him third place Thompson was hounding Matin for second.

On lap eight, Nikita Lastochkin went off track while battling with Megennis, Rickards, and Denes for 8th place.

On lap 11, Thompson, who had been hounding Martin for the last five laps was able to get by his teammate for second place in the tough to pass Turn 6.

Martin said that his car hit a brick wall after a few laps and the rear tires went away. He made the decision to let Thompson get by and focus on holding Gabin and Lloyd behind him.

Thompson said that somewhere around lap five, he found the right setting with his sway bar and his car really came to him at that point.

Martin quickly fell into the clutches of fellow Australian Gabin who was turning laps significantly quicker.

With 9 minutes left in the race, Gabin was only 0.9 seconds behind Martin, and Lloyd was another 1.8 seconds behind Martin.

With 7 minutes left, Gabin had cut the gap to Martin down to 0.6 seconds, while Lloyd had cut the gap to Gabin down to 1.3 seconds.

Gabin and Lloyd continued to hassle their Australian countryman for the final spot on the podium, but the Cape Motorsports with /WTR sophomore was able to hold them off. With a five point difference between finishing third and finishing fifth, his defensive driver could go a long way to helping him wrap up a championship on Sunday.

Martin explained he spent the rest of the race trying to roll speed through the quick parts of the track to keep Gabin and Lloyd behind him.

The results of the first Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda race 

RANK NAME GAP
1 Victor Franzoni 21 LAPS
2 Parker Thompson 12.9597
3 Anthony Martin 18.2930
4 Luke Gabin 19.3437
5 Jordan Lloyd 19.8745
6 Yufeng Luo 30.4649
7 Phillippe Denes 33.9601
8 Robert Megennis 36.4487
9 Lucas Kohl 37.1856
10 Dakota Dickerson 40.4815
11 Nikita Lastochkin 40.9609
12 Garth Rickards 41.8693
13 Kaylen Frederick 42.1004
14 Cameron Das 46.0198
15 Tazio Ottis 46.5354
16 Robert Armington -3 LAPS
17 Michael Scott -11 LAPS
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO
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